'''Kreig Krieg Acerbus''' was raised in a tribal culture, as evidenced by the scars that ringed his mouth. Inducted into the [[Night Lords]] [[Space Marine Legion|Legion]], he was a giant of a [[Space Marine]] and a fine warrior. Like [[Kheron Ophion]], he is described as courageous, an unusual trait for a Night Lord. This, combined with his chosen weapon of a great [[power axe]], earned him the title '''Axemaster'''.{{fn|1b}} During the [[Great Crusade]] he was a member of the [[Kyroptera]].{{Fn|6}}

At the time of the [[Horus Heresy]], Acerbus was the youngest of the [[Konrad Curze]]'s [[Space Marine Captain|Captain]]s and one of his [[Chosen (Chaos Space Marines)|Chosen]]. He had a long-standing rivalry with [[First Captain]] [[Zso Sahaal]],{{fn|1a}} who believed he was overly burdened by pleasure in the Legion's work. Along with Captains [[Jakr]], [[Fal Kata]], and [[Nadigrath]], he led an armada that attacked a vanguard fleet of the [[Ultramarines]] in the [[Anseladon Sector]] shortly before Curze's assassination.{{fn|4}} When Curze gathered his Chosen in his palace on [[Tsagualsa]] and told them he was going to die, Acerbus did nothing to conceal his great desire to become his heir.{{fn|1b}} After Curze was killed, Acerbus was among those who stood by until they realised the [[Callidus Temple|assassin]] [[M'Shen]] had taken various relics, some of which were supposedly promised to them as the Haunter's heirs.{{fn|2b}}

When Zso Sahaal emerged from the [[warp]] in [[M41]], Acerbus answered his distress call in search of the [[Corona Nox]] - — the crown of the Night Haunter which Sahaal had wrested from M'Shen. While Sahaal claimed it marked him as the Haunter's heir, Acerbus maintained that he was only ever meant to be its keeper, that Curze had foreseen Sahaal's exile and allowed it to happen so that his "worthy witterings" would not obscure Curze's vision of a Legion to eat the terror of the [[Imperium]]. Sahaal, though wounded by Acerbus, managed to escape into the icy wilderness of [[Equixus]].{{fn|1c}}

Acerbus and his warband seem to maintain some distance from the rest of the Legion, not noted to have taken part in either of the known major gatherings in the years since they scattered - the raid on the Callidus Temple on [[Uriah III]]{{fn|3}} and the gathering to debate the [[13th Black Crusade]].{{fn|45}}

==See alsoRelated Articles==

**{{Endn|2a}}: Chapter VIII: Warmaster**{{Endn|2b}}: Chapter XVII: Soul Hunter

*{{Endn|4}}: [[Blood Reaver (Novel)]], XIV: Loyalties*{{Endn|5}}: [[Void Stalker (Novel)]], Epilogue Tertius*{{Endn|6}}: [[Konrad Curze: The Night Haunter (Novel)]] - Chapter 11